Aman Zhang

Study on splitting of a toroidal bubble near a rigid boundary

The splitting of a toroidal bubble near a rigid boundary is commonly observed in experiments, which is a quite complex phenomenon in bubble dynamics and still not yet well understood. In present study, the bubble splitting phenomenon is studied using the boundary integral method. The vortex ring model is extended to multiple vortex rings to simulate the interaction between two toroidal bubbles after splitting. Buoyancy and non-buoyancy cases are investigated numerically in this study. Numerical results with buoyancy effects show favorable agreement with the experimental observations, which validates the present model. Generally, the first split of the toroidal bubble occurs when an annular “sideways jet” collides with the other side of the bubble. After the toroidal bubble splitting, some new phenomena are found as follows: (i) An annular high pressure region is generated at the splitting location, and the maximum pressure is associated with the velocity differences between the two sides therein just before splitting. (ii) The total volume varies continuously, while the two sub-bubbles vary differently in volume after splitting. (iii) The sideways jet continues propagating on a sub-bubble surface, which would cause more splits or partial breakup of the splash film into droplets. This may be an important reason for the formation of bubble cloud and the rough bubble surface in the rebounding process.

Experimental study on the interaction between bubble and free surface using a high-voltage spark generator

The experimental studies presented in this paper attempt to supply a reasonable comprehensive explanation for the key feature of the collapse bubble and the complex nature of the raised free surface. Six distinctive patterns of free surface motion were identified for bubbles initiated at different γf (the non-dimensional bubble-free surface distance scaled with the maximum bubble radius). Special features such as “breaking wrinkles,” “spraying water film,” and other unstable phenomena were observed with free surface motions, which were hardly captured by a boundary integral scheme. Parameters defining the shape of the free surface, such as the spike height Hspike, the spike width Wbase, and the skirt height Hspray, are measured and analyzed against γf. Different voltages were used to generate bubbles with varies sizes, while the bubble and free surface motion patterns appeared to be largely independent of the bubble size. Finally, collapsing bubble shape, centroid migration, period of bubble oscillation, ...

Nonlinear interaction between underwater explosion bubble and structure based on fully coupled model

The interaction between an underwater explosion bubble and an elastic-plastic structure is a complex transient process, accompanying violent bubble collapsing, jet impact, penetration through the bubble, and large structural deformation. In the present study, the bubble dynamics are modeled using the boundary element method and the nonlinear transient structural response is modeled using the explicit finite element method. A new fully coupled 3D model is established through coupling the equations for the state variables of the fluid and structure and solving them as a set of coupled linear algebra equations. Based on the acceleration potential theory, the mutual dependence between the hydrodynamic load and the structural motion is decoupled. The pressure distribution in the flow field is calculated with the Bernoulli equation, where the partial derivative of the velocity potential in time is calculated using the boundary integral method to avoid numerical instabilities. To validate the present fully coupled model, the experiments of small-scale underwater explosion near a stiffened plate are carried out. High-speed imaging is used to capture the bubble behaviors and strain gauges are used to measure the strain response. The numerical results correspond well with the experimental data, in terms of bubble shapes and structural strain response. By both the loosely coupled model and the fully coupled model, the interaction between a bubble and a hollow spherical shell is studied. The bubble patterns vary with different parameters. When the fully coupled model and the loosely coupled model are advanced with the same time step, the error caused by the loosely coupled model becomes larger with the coupling effect becoming stronger. The fully coupled model is more stable than the loosely coupled model. Besides, the influences of the internal fluid on the dynamic response of the spherical shell are studied. At last, the case that the bubble interacts with an air-backed stiffened plate is simulated. The associated interesting physical phenomenon is obtained and expounded.

Interaction between bubble and air-backed plate with circular hole

This paper investigates the nonlinear interaction between a violent bubble and an air-backed plate with a circular hole. A numerical model is established using the incompressible potential theory coupled with the boundary integral method. A double-node technique is used to solve the overdetermined problem caused by the intersection between the solid wall and the free surface. A spark-generated bubble near the air-backed plate with a circular hole is observed experimentally using a high-speed camera. Our numerical results agree well with the experimental results. Both experimental and numerical results show that a multilevel spike emerges during the bubble’s expansion and contraction. Careful numerical simulation reveals that this special type of spike is caused by the discontinuity in the boundary condition. The influences of the hole size and depth on the bubble and spike dynamics are also analyzed.

Experimental study on interaction and coalescence of synchronized multiple bubbles

Experiments are carried out on the interaction and coalescence of two, three, and four bubbles with approximately the same sizes, distributed evenly and symmetrically. The bubbles are generated simultaneously by electric discharges, using an in-house designed series circuit, and their interaction is captured using a high-speed camera. Particular attentions are paid to if/when coalescence of bubbles happens and the motion of the joined bubbles. Some new features are observed, which depend mainly on the dimensionless distance γbb = dbb/Rmax, where dbb is the inter-bubble distance and Rmax is the maximum bubble radius. For γbb > 2, a jet forms and penetrates each side bubble, directed to the center of the configuration, resulting in a protrusion. Towards the end of collapse, a large portion of bubble gases is compressed into the protrusion from the main part of the toroidal bubble. For γbb 2, the jets that form from the side bubbles are towards the middle, and the middle bubble splits into two parts, moving towards the two side bubbles. For γbb < 2, the side bubbles merge with the middle bubble during expansion, forming an ellipsoid bubble; the joined bubble collapses predominantly from two sides, where two inward jets form towards the end of collapse.

Numerical and Experimental Study of Bubble Impact on a Solid Wall

The dynamic characteristics of a bubble initially very close to a rigid wall, or with a very narrow gap, are different from those of a bubble away from the wall. Especially at the contraction stage, a high-speed jet pointing toward the wall will be generated and will impact the rigid surface directly, which could cause more severe damage to the structure. Based on the velocity potential theory and boundary element method (BEM), the present paper aims to overcome the numerical difficulty and simulate the bubble impact on a solid wall for the axisymmetric case. The convergence study has been undertaken to verify the developed numerical method and the computation code. Extensive experiments are conducted. Case studies are made using both experimental data and numerical results. The effects of dimensionless distance on the bubble dynamics are investigated.

Transient interaction between a particle and an attached bubble with an application to cavitation in silt-laden flow

This study aims to elucidate the complex interaction between a suspended particle and an attached bubble, which is associated with cavitation in silt-laden flow. Systematic experiments are performed with high-speed photography, in which bubbles are generated by underwater electric discharge means. The bubble-particle interactions are found to be strongly dependent on two dimensionless parameters, i.e., the particle-bubble size ratio λL and the particle-liquid density ratio λρ. When λρ equals 2.61, the bubble split phenomenon is universally observed and the particle shooting effect (the particle acceleration during bubble expansion and after bubble-particle detachment) becomes more obvious as λL decreases. If λL < ∼0.34, the particle velocity keeps positive (away from the bubble), otherwise the particle velocity drops below zero (toward the bubble) during the bubble collapse phase. As λρ increases, the particle achieves a lower velocity but a higher impulse, and the bubble necking phenomenon is more pronounced. Our boundary integral simulations reproduce the experiments extremely well, including the particle dynamics, the bubble wrapping the particle, the bubble necking and detachment, and the mushroom-shaped bubble. After the bubble-particle detachment, the liquid around the detachment location is drawn inward and collides on the axis of symmetry, leading to the formation of a localized high pressure region between the bubble and the particle, which accelerates the particle for the second time even in the bubble collapse phase.This study aims to elucidate the complex interaction between a suspended particle and an attached bubble, which is associated with cavitation in silt-laden flow. Systematic experiments are performed with high-speed photography, in which bubbles are generated by underwater electric discharge means. The bubble-particle interactions are found to be strongly dependent on two dimensionless parameters, i.e., the particle-bubble size ratio λL and the particle-liquid density ratio λρ. When λρ equals 2.61, the bubble split phenomenon is universally observed and the particle shooting effect (the particle acceleration during bubble expansion and after bubble-particle detachment) becomes more obvious as λL decreases. If λL < ∼0.34, the particle velocity keeps positive (away from the bubble), otherwise the particle velocity drops below zero (toward the bubble) during the bubble collapse phase. As λρ increases, the particle achieves a lower velocity but a higher impulse, and the bubble necking phenomenon is more pronou...

Acoustic radiation induced by bubble motion in compressible fluid

Based on the theory of compressible fluid, a three-dimension boundary element method is utilized to research the motion of bubble. The far-field noise radiation during the growth and contraction is calculated by the Kirchhoff formula and the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) formula with a fixed radiation surface being arranged at the near-field of bubble as a new acoustic source. The results show that the amplitude of the sound pressure induced by non-spherical bubble is lower than that of spherical bubble in the contraction phase. The retardance effect is more obvious when the observer is farther away from the bubble. In the anaphase of contraction, the observer with the maximum amplitude of sound pressure moves up with the obvious jet. Larger buoyance parameters will generate lower sound pressure amplitudes in the anaphase, while larger intensive parameters will cause higher sound pressure amplitudes in the whole procedure of bubble motion.

Formation and coalescence of nanobubbles under controlled gas concentration and species

Using molecular dynamics simulations, the effects of gas concentration and species on the coalescence and growth of nanobubbles were systematically investigated. With increasing gas concentration, not only surface nanobubbles but also bulk nanobubbles are formed. The bulk nanobubble in water is less explored so far. Here, its coalescence, stability, movement trajectory and velocity are discussed. A comparison of the motion and coalescence of the bulk nanobubble to the surface nanobubble, directly demonstrates that the three-phase contact line plays a crucial role for surface nanobubble stability. Compared with the bubble size, the distance between surface nanobubbles is a more important factor to decide the merging order among three nanobubbles. The study also shows that three factors including the oversaturated gas concentration, the distance between surface nanobubbles, and the stronger solid-gas interactions influence the formation of the gas-enrichment layer at the solid-liquid interface. The result h...

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JET IMPACT DURING THE INTERACTION BETWEEN A BUBBLE AND A WALL

The dynamics of a toroidal bubble splitting near a rigid wall in an inviscid incompressible fluid is studied in this paper. The boundary integral method is adopted to simulate the bubble motion. After the jet impact, the vortex ring model is used to handle the discontinued potential of the toroidal bubble. When the toroidal bubble is splitting, topology changes are made tear the bubble apart. Then, the vortex ring model is extended to multiple vortex rings to simulate the interaction between two toroidal bubbles. A typical case is discussed in this study. Besides, the velocity fields and pressure contours surrounding the bubble are used to illustrate the numerical results. An annular high pressure region is generated at the splitting location, and the maximum pressure may be much higher than the jet impact. More splits may happen after the first split.